Control card



' Nov. 9,1937.

| E. LENTZ 2,098,345

CONTROL CARD Filed Deq. 30, 19:55

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II I II I] IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. 9, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE v CONTROL CARD N. Y.,a corporation of Delaware Application December 80, 1933, Serial No.704,796

8Claims.

'Ihe invention relates to a new and improved form of control material insheet form havingperforations utilized'to predetermine the extent 10application to cards but that it may be embodied with advantage in tapesand other perforated sheets and sheet material.

Control cards per se are well known in the art, one particular typebeing exemplified by the sev- 15 eral patents to Hollerith; No. 395,781dated Jan.

8, 1889; Reissue No. 12,523 dated Aug..28, 1906;

No. 945,236 dated Jan. 4, 1910, and No. 1,109,841 dated Sept. 8, 1914.

Another character of such card is illustrated in the following patents:Soulage No. 941,892 dated Nov. 30, 1909; Waters No. 1,128,923 dated Feb.16, 1915; Roberts No. 1,174,286 dated March 7, 1916; Hathaway No.1,444,505 dated Feb. 6, 1923; Lake No. 1,772,492 dated Aug. 12, 1930,and 25 Thompson et al. No. 1,873,510 dated Aug. 23, 1932. The firstmentioned group of patents disclose control or tabulating cardsemploying circular apertures, whereas the second group depend upon theuse of square, rectangular, or oblong aper- 30 tures.

Preliminary to a description of the present invention, it will be wellto point out that the differentially positioned apertures, or, as theyare sometimes referred to, the statistical perforations 35 at the indexpositions of such cards, govern operation of either mechanical orelectrical analyzing means, which in turn are adapted to predeterminethe character and extent of machine operations. Thus in tabulatingmachines the 40 analyzing means operates, among other ways,-to

predetermine the extent to which the wheels of one or a plurality oftotalizers will be rotated for the purposes of storing and/or printingquantitative data, as represented by the relative posi- 45 tions of therespective index points with respect to normally disposed referencelines.

It will be understood that the distanceof a given perforation from, say,the vertical reference line might determine the particular totalizer 50wheel to be selected for actuation, whereas the height of the sameaperture above a horizontal reference line might predetermine the extentof movement to be imparted to the selected wheel.

In machines employing mechanical analyzing 55 means, the card is fedinto juxtaposition to a nest of pins, whereupon such pins as are alignedwith apertures in the card are projected therethrough for abuttingcoaction with mechanisms individually articulated with, or operable tocondition, the individual totalizer wheels. In such machines it isdesirable that the maximum overall width of the pins be such as topermit the grouping of a-maximum number of apertures in a givenhorizontal length of card, or, otherwise stated, to control a maximumnumber of wheels or machine operations through the medium of a card ofminimum length.

It will at once be apparent that considerations of strength and rigiditylimit the amount to which the cross sectional area of the analyzingpins'can be reduced, and that the configuration of the apertures formedin the card similarly serves to limit the total number of apertureswhich can be placed in a continuous horizontal line without seriouslyimpairing the strength and usefulness of the card.

In machines of the electrical type the perforated control cards are fedunder one or a plurality of contact brushes which are caused to' dropinto the respective apertures to engage an underlying conductor and thusestablish electrical circuits controlling mechanism adapted to rotate orcondition the respective totalizer wheels for operation. Clin ,suchmachines a primary desideratum is the provision of a control card inwhich the apertures are of maximum length in the direction of thevertical axis of the card so between the brushes and underlyingconducting surfaces in each position corresponding to an aperture.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide acontrol card having a new and improved form of aperture and adapted foruse in either mechanical or electrical machines of the class described.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a form of statisticalaperture in a control card, such that a maximum number of apertures maybe formed in horizontal rows of given length without impairing thestrength of the card.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a card of thecharacter described, in which the configuration of the apertures is suchas to permit the use of analyzing pins of maximum rigidity.

Other objects and advantage/s ot the present invention will becomeapparent in connection w th the following detailed description 01' apreferred form and an' alternate form of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing,

Figure 1 represents a plan view of a control card having statisticalperforations formed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a card embodying theinvention and showing perforations of the preferred form and of analternate form respectively.

Referring to Figure 1, a tabulating card is dis-' closed at i I. Thecard is preferably formed with a plurality of vertical columns, andhorizontal rows, of index positions at which apertures are adapted to beformed, it being understood that the spacing of the respective columnscorresponds with the spacing of the card engaging elements of theindividual totalizer wheel controlling means, and that the spacing ofhorizontal rows is correlated to the differential extents of movement tobe communicated to the respective wheels.

With a view to the accomplishment of the before mentioned objects, thecard II is perforated in the columns and rows previously identified withpolygonal apertures Ii, as shown particularly in Figure 2. In thepresent embodiment of the invention the polygonal apertures are giventhe form of isosceles trapezoids; that is, four sided polygons havingtwo parallel sides, and one pair of non-parallel sides, the non-paralleisides defining equal angles respectively with the parallel sides.

In the main portion of Figure 2, the non-parallel sides are indicated atII, the major of the parallel sides at II and the minor of the parallelsides at ll, Preferably the vertical dimension of the trapezoid isgreater than its extreme horizontal dimension, although it will beunderstood that an aperture of similar configuration, in-which thevertical dimension would be equal to, or less than, the extremehorizontal dimension, is within the contemplation of the invention. Inthe lower left hand portion of Figure 2, for example, the dimension "w"may be equal to, or greater than, the dimension "h" in the aperture II.

The apertures are formed in the card II with the major of the parallelsides II, defining the base of each of the apertures in the alternatepositions in each horizontal row, and the minor side I, defining thebase of each of the other apertures. Furthermore, the apertures inalternate columns are arranged so that themajor side It defines the baseof every aperture in one column, the minor side ll, defining the base ofevery aperture in the next adjacent column.

The non-parallel sides of adjacent apertures in each row are spacedapart to simulate truss-like webs IO, connecting the material of thecard above, and below, each row of apertures.

It will be observed from the drawing that punching of a continuous rowof apertures of the type disclosed, results in the formation of whatcorresponds to a triangulated truss in the card, the webs l8 functioningto prevent the formation of a line of maximum weakness along which thecard might tend to bend, or tear, as is the case when a maximum numberof circular apertures are formed. In addition, it will be obvious thatthe triangulated apertures do not seriously detract from the strength ofthe card because of the tendency of the webs iii to resist shearing ofthe card along the row of apertures, the alternate webs tending to actin tension regardless of the direction of the shearing stress to whichthe card is subjected. Thus with the maximum number of apertures adaptedto be formed in a horizontal row, the resulting structure of the card isappreciably stronger than in the case when circular or rectangularapertures are employed.

It will additionally be obvious that the configuration of the apertureis such that its vertical dimension, or in other words its length in thedirection of movement of the card, is suificient to allow ample time forbrushes such as are used in electrical tabulating machines to drop intothe aperture and engage an underlying electric circuit forming element.

Furthermore, the contour of the aperture is such as will permit the useof analyzing pins of maximum strength with minimum cross sectional areain the event that the card is to be employed in machines of the typewhich utilize mechanical analyzing or sensing means. In this connectionit will be noted that the section modulus of the preferred form and thatof the alternative form of the apertures is such as to insure rigidityin a pin of corresponding cross section, regardless of the direction ofthe stress to which it is sub- Jected.

From the foregoing description it will be obvious that I have provided aconfiguration for apertures in control cards which lends itself to usein connection with either mechanical or electrical machines, and. issuch that a maximum number of apertures may be formed in a card ofminimum size, without seriously impairing the strength or usefulness ofthe card.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to perforatedsheet material having apertures of the particular form shown in thedrawing of this application but that the invention may be embodied insuch material having apertures of other forms within the scope of theclaims.

I claim as my invention,

1. A tabulating sheet having trapezoidal apertures arranged in verticalcolumns and horizontal rows and each having two opposite non-parallelsides,.the apertures in adjacent columns being inverted.

2. A tabulating sheet punched to define trapezoidal apertures arrangedin spaced vertical columns with the major and minor parallel sidesrespectively of the trapezoids defining the bases of apertures inadjacent columns.

3. A tabulating sheet having trapezoidal apertures arranged in verticalcolumns and horizontal rows with the major parallel sides of thetrapezoidal apertures defining the bases of the apertures in alternatecolumns, and the minor parallel sides of the trapezoids defining thebases of the apertures in other columns alternating with said firstcolumns.

4. A control sheet having statistical perforations arranged in verticalcolumns and horizontal rows, each perforation including a pair ofconverging sides, the sides of the perforations in alternate columnsconverging toward points above the row identified with an particularperforation, the sides of the perforations in other columns convergingtoward points below the row identified with any particular perforationin said other columns.

5. A tabulating sheet having trapezoidal apertures arranged inhorizontal rows with the respective major and minor ofthe parallel sidesof adjacent trapezoidal apertures defining segments of a line extendinghorizontally of the card.

6. A tabulating sheet perforated to define spaced polygonal aperturesarranged in horizontal rows, each of said apertures being defined by apair of spaced parallel horizontally extending edges and a pair ofconverging edges connecting said parallel edges. the adjacent edges ofadjacent apertures extending substantially parallel one to the other.

7. A control device of sheet material having locations for perforationsin vertical columns and horizontal rows and having vertically taperingperforations formed at certain of said locations and relatively invertedin adjacent columns.

8. A control sheet having locations for perforations in vertical columnsand horizontal rows and having vertically tapering perforations formedin said sheet at certain of said locations, the perforations inalternate locations in a horizontal row being-inverted with relation toperforations in other locations in said row.

' LAWRENCE E. mmz.

